Metal backed cove and end closure for the same



Feb. 2, 1937. H. G. SWENDSEN ET AL 2,069,289

METAL BACKED COVE AND END CLOSURE FOR THE SAME Filed Nov. 24, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 SEN UNG M 00 N w W M mw rm M60 M HAROLD G cA BY M Feb. 2, 1937. H. G. SWENDSEN ET AL METAL BACKED AND END CLOSURE FOR THE SAME Filed Nov. 24 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q w w I H: v

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INVENTOR HA R0 LD 6. SWEN D W Q Feb. 2, 1937. H. G. SWENDSEN ET AL 2,069,289

METAL BACKED COVE AND END CLOSURE FOR THE SAME Filed Nov. 24, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I INVENTOR HAROLD G. SWENDSEN l a CARL L.YOUN El 9- BY J ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METAL BACKED COVE AND END CLOSURE FOR THE SAME Harold G. Swendsen and Carl L. Young, Seattle, Wash.

Our present invention relates to the art of laying and finishing composition floors and, more particularly to, a metal backed cove and end closures for the same.

In laying floors of resilient sheet material such as linoleum, rubber tile, asphalt tile, and the like, it has been found diflicult to provide a neat base board arrangement that will be in harmony with the resilient floor covering and, at the same time, will blend with it. Various attempts have been made in the past to provide a cove unit to serve this purpose but it has been difiicult to have a sanitary unit which would at the same time be substantial and economical at first cost. It is to provide a solution of this problem that we have created our present cove unit.

The principal objects sought in our present invention is to provide a neat, substantial, utilitarian, sanitary and economical base for use with resilient floor covering.

A further object is to provide a metal back which gives a true plane surface and a true radius cove against which to form and cement the linoleum or other similar sheet floor covering material.

A further object is to supply means making it possible to apply a variable border to thefield of the floor covering and carry it up a portion of the wall toform a base.

A further object is to provide formed or molded corner pieces, and stops, which abut against the adjacent surfaces of base or border forming a utilitarian and sanitary corner or end closure.

A further object is to provide a method of, securing the metal back, corner devices and stops to walls and floors which is concealed after the linoleum or sheet material is cemented in place.

A further object is toprovide a method of making an integral floor border and base consisting of a combination of metal back and linoleum or other sheet material and to give a rounded corner at the junction of the floor and the wall without any seams at this junction.

Other and more specific objects will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the manner of laying sheet floor covering material embodying our cove and corner closures.

Figure 2 illustrates an external corner similar to that shown in Figure l in which the corner closure member has been removed and the cove member broken away to better illustrate the recess provided for the placement of. our closure securing means.

Figure 3 is a typical cross-sectional view taken through our cove unit.

Figure 4 is a sectional view showing in plan 5 an external corner closure member embodying our invention.

Figure 5 is a sectional view in elevationalong the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 illustrates, in perspective, an external corner closure as it is made when formed as a casting or molding.

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing an internal corner closure, also of cast or molded construction.

Figure 8 is a sectional view showing, in plan, the method of applying an external and internal corner closure and the border covering showing the extent of the cove member.

Figure 9 is a side elevation of an external corner closure as it would appear if formed'of stamped material.

Figure 10 is a top plan View of the closure shown in Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a sectional view along the line ll-ll of Figure 9.

Figure 12 is a side elevation of an internal corner closure as it would be made it stamped from sheet material.

Figure'l3 is a top plan view of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line l4-|4 of Figure 12.

Figure 15 is a typical sectional View, in elevation, through our cove unit and illustrating the manner of incorporating therein a wire conduit.

Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference characters indicate like parts, [6 designates an external corner cove closure and [8 an internal corner closure of the same general type. These fittings may be either cast or molded from suitable materials such as metal or bakelite after the showing, particularly, of Figures 6 and 7, or they may be made of sheet metal formed, as by dies, after the showing of Figures 9 and 12. The type of construction and the material employed will, of necessity, vary in accordance with the materials used in the floor covering and cove and, further in accordance with the decorative effect desired. With the various types of corner closures illustrated it is very desirable that they be secured fixedly in place in a manner that will not leave any screws or nails showing. This is accomplished by providing corner anchors which, if the corners are cast of metal or molded as of bakelite, can best be accomplished by securing to the corners by riveting or brazing thereto, relatively thin sheet metal tabs, as the strap metal tabs shown in Figure 6 or '7 or, if the corners are formed from sheet metal, as by dies, then these anchors can be provided integral with the corner closures themselvesafter the showing of Figures 9 to 12, inclusive, in which metal tabs, or anchors, as 22 and 23 are provided. In each of the instances the anchors, or tabs, should be pierced with holes, as 24, so as to accommodate screws or nails, which will hold them securely into the base of the wall. Most walls are finished at the floor with an inserted wood ground. This makes securing of the anchors comparatively simple. If, however, the walls are finished clear to the fioor with plaster or concrete, it is necessary to create a recess as 25 and to provide securing means as by drilling the same and inserting wall plugs. The closure members should be provided with abutting surfaces so that the cove 26 can abut the closures on a straight surface. In furtherance of this principle we have provided the corner members with a right angle base as 28 and 30.

In order to take full advantage of the desirable characteristics of the metal corners it is necessary to provide that the cove member 26 be so constructed that it will retain its position and have sufficient structural strength to resist any normal damage. This we have provided by securing to the base of the wall a sheet metal cove member 32. This, for the average installation, will be of sheet metal having suflicient extent to go up to the upper limit of the base and extend downwardly and outwardly on the floor so as to provide a secure backing for the curved portion of the cove. This may be secured in position in any satisfactory manner, usually by nailing or through fastening the same to the wooden ground. It is desired to point out, at this time, that the covering, 34, of the cove should extend, preferably, to some distance away from the wall after the showing of Figure 8 so that the joint between the cove covering material and the field or main area of the floor will be at some distance from the wall. This lends itself particularly well to present designs of borders. It has the outstanding advantage, further, that in cleaning there are no seams close to the wall where it might be difficult to adequately clean the same. It will be apparent, it is believed, that the field covering could be extended up onto the metal cove member 32 if no border were desired and in this manner the joint, as 36, might be any place in the pattern of the floor covering even considerably removed from the wall.

The upper margin of the cove may be finished in any desirable manner. In Figures 1 and 2 we have indicated the metal backing 32 as extending up and bent over the resilient covering for the cove member. In Figure 3 we have illustrated an optional form in which the base bead is a separate piece of the formed metal. This has many advantages over the solid piece in that it may be a higher quality material and can be finished as desired without the necessity of so finishing larger metal backing 32 or using materials for the backing that are unnecessarily expensive.

In the form shown in Figure 15 we have indicated an installation that might be desirable if our cove unit is to be placed in a room where no provision had previously been made for wiring such as telephone, lights, etc. Under such conditions it is desirable to space the cove member away from the wall W as by spaces 38 and 4D. This allows sufiicient space for the installation of the wire carrying conduit 42. This has been shown as being formed of two stationary members 43 and 44 and a removable portion 45 which can be lifted out when it is desired to make wiring installations.

Method of operation When installing a floor incorporating our cove, we find it most satisfactory to have wooden grounds placed into the base of the wall. This assures an easy means of attachment of the cove and further has the advantage of producing a straight or even wall which is highly desirable when a metal cove, such as the present invention, is employed. Assuming such wooden grounds are in place the first step is to put into position the various corner pieces and, also, end closures wherever wall openings occur. These end closures should embody the same general principles as expressed in the drawings of the corner closures. In other words they should provide means for anchoring the end closure in place, as by means of tabs 20 and provide a straight abutting surface for the cove. The closures are held in place before installing the cove base backing, by screw fastening or nailing through openings 24. After two adjacent closures are set in place the metal backing 32, together with the base bead 46, if a separate bead is used, is cut to fit the space, along the wall, between the closures. The metal back must fit snugly against the shoulders of the closures thus securing the same solidly in place. The metal back 32, together with the base head, is nailed or screwed to the wood ground along the walls at necessary intervals to fasten it securely to the wall.

The next step is to install the linoleum, or other resilient floor covering, such as rubber tile or asphalt tile forming the border 48. However, before this can be done it is necessary that the linoleum of the field, or main area of the floor, shall have been laid. This must be left with a straight margin, usually a steel out edge, parallel to, and a correct distance from, the wall. This distance is determined, of course, by the width of border desired.

The linoleum for the border and base is now out in long strips of the right width with straight, parallel edges. It is placed temporarily against the wall against the metal back 32, between the end closures and cut to the right length, with cut-outs around the feet of the closures and, further, where corners occur the border portion which is to be laid on the fioor, is mitered at the end to make a butt joint against adjacent linoleum border strips. After the linoleum strip has been properly fitted it is removed from the base and the surface of the border floor and the surface of the metal base is covered with linoleum cement. The linoleum border and base is then placed on the border floor, against the field, and the metal back with the upper margin against the base bead and pressed tightly into place. The linoleum border strip should be wide enough so as to make a forced fit when in place. The pressure from the toe where it meets the field and at the top where it engages the base bead will be sufficient to hold the linoleum tightly against the metal back at the cove until the cement has set.

Where wood grounds are not in place the procedure is similar excepting that it is necessary to drill the wall at frequent intervals and insert wall plugs into which the base end closure elements can be securely fastened.

When heavy resilient floor material is used it is sometimes impossible to bend it to the relatively small radius required to form the cove. Under these conditions similar material of less thickness must be used and the difference in thickness between the border and the field made up with padding of the usual felting type.

It is normally preferable that the corners and other closures will be flush with the surface of the cove material so that no seams are provided which would make cleaning difficult.

The foregoing description and the accompanying drawings are believed to clearly disclose a preferred embodiment of our invention but it will be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative and that such changes in the invention may be made as are fairly within the scope and spirit of the following claims:

We claim:

1. A coved floor border comprising a wall portion and a floor portion and a corner opening therein, a corner piece fitted in said opening and conforming to the coved border, a backing stripfor the border, laterally extending fastening means on the corner piece and located between the backing strip and an upright wall, and means for securing said fastening means to said wall.

2. A coved floor-border comprising a wall portion and. a floor portion and a corner opening in the border, a corner piece fitted in said opening and conforming to the border, a backing strip for the border, a pair of laterally extending anchoring plates rigid with the corner piece and located between the backing strip and an upright Wall, and means fastening said plates to the wall.

3. A coved floor border having a fastening edge and a corner opening, a backing strip having an upper outwardly overhanging flange encasing said edge, a corner-piece fitted in the opening, lateral anchoring plates on said piece located between the backing strip and a wall, and means fastening said plates to the wall.

4. A coved floor border comprising a wall-portion and a floor. portion and having a corner opening, a corner-piece fitted in said opening and having an angular floor-portion and a wall-portion having parallel side edges, a pair of laterally extending anchoring-plates rigid with the corner piece, a backing strip and means for securing said strip to the border, said plates being located between the strip and a wall, and means for securing said plates to the wall.

5. A coved floor border comprising a wall-portion and a floor portion and having a corner opening, a corner-piece fitted in said opening and having an angular floor-portion and a wall-portion having parallel upright side edges, a pair of laterally extending anchoring plates rigid with the corner piece and means for attaching said plates to a wall, a backing strip and means for securing said strip to a wall, and a forwardly projecting, overhanging flange on the backing strip frictionally engaging the upper edge of the border.

6. A coved floor border comprising an upright wall portion having an upper edge, and a floor portion projecting outwardly from the wall portion, a backing strip extending upwardly from said outwardly projecting floor portion and adapted to be fastened to a wall, and an integral overhanging flange on said strip encasing said upper edge.

'7. A coved floor border comprisingan upright wall portion and a laterally projecting floor portion adapted to rest ona floor covering, a backing strip for the border adapted to be fastened to an upright wall, said strip terminating with its lower edge back of the laterally projecting floor portion and adapted to be fastened to the floor covering.

HAROLD G. SWENDSEN. CARL L. YOUNG. 

